Improve the LabVIEW Help Search Functionality

[Nathan_S]

For as long as I've been using LabVIEW, I've often turned to the LabVIEW Help file (which is a compiled HTML file) and found very little help.  I'll search for something simple like "For Loop" and receive 500 (literally, try it for yourself) possible topics, including the Cohen-Coon Autotuning Method, Control in NI-DAQmx, Limit Specification VI, and so on.  These have nothing to do with For Loops.

I'm proposing that the LabVIEW Help be turned into something that is ACTUALLY helpful.  I'm not sure about the best way to do this.  I think that it should still be portable and shouldn't require any Internet access to use (as lots of us cannot access the Internet on our development machines).  I would really enjoy a tool that would allow me to search for something like "For Loop" and receive like 5 topics that all have to do with using a For Loop in LabVIEW.

[Mr._Jim]

Hi Nathan_S, I just happened to see your post.  I'm not going to dispute what you've experienced, but here's my humble two cents:

I think the trick to finding the information is in how you go about the search.

Have you tried the following?:

1. Find something on the block diagram, functions palette, etc. that you need help with
2. Open context help and mouse over the perplexing item
3. Click on "Detailed Help" (blue link at the bottom of context help)

Alternatively, if you're staring at a dialog (e.g. LabVIEW Options) and you need help, try clicking on the "Help" button.

If the above methods are used, I'd bet money (okay, not real money, but I'm pretty sure) you'll nearly always find contextually relevant help.  Personally, as long as I've used LabVIEW, I've found the help files to be mostly quite good so long as you find stuff using context help.

For what it's worth.  (Just trying to offer friendly help)

Mr. Jim

[Nathan_S]

Hey Mr. Jim, I definitely appreciate the help. I do agree with you about using the Context Help, that's typically what I do. I just used a For Loop as an example case that I came across in my early development days. I'm a CLD now and definitely familiar with most aspects of LabVIEW, but sometimes searching for things like - class dynamic dispatching, registering for an ActiveX Event, typecasting a reference - can be difficult. If a search "engine" of sorts were used in the Help, I think more users (especially newer developers) could greatly benefit. Nathan

[Mr._Jim]

Nathan,

Well, since you put it that way...

I didn't mean to treat you like a complete novice or anything - I was just going along with your for loop example.

I definitely agree that it's often difficult to locate information on more advanced topics like dynamic dispatch and object oriented stuff.  Likewise, the search function in the help could definitely be improved.

It's just that when you say the help isn't helpful, it puts a lot of people on the defensive, like, "Hey, that's not true!"

Anyway, now that I fully understand what you were trying to convey, I don't entirely disagree.

[fabric]

Yup... The search engine is a dog. (That's what my kudos was for!) Regarding the help content itself, these days it's pretty good. Maybe the title should be updated to explicitly mention the search function?

[Nathan_S]

That's a good idea, fabric.  How do I change the title?  There doesn't seem to be an option anywhere...

[fabric]

You will need to request a moderator to make the change for you. (Top-left corner>Idea Options>Report to moderator)

Spoiler

Can you imagine the chaos we could cause if they let *us* change our own titles?! 

[PaulG.]

Most of Mr Jim's suggestions are obvious and I find they work for me most of the time. However, to pile on the criticism of the LV search engine, I have better luck searching directly through NI or even Google. But even NI's search engine can be very lame. (NO, NI, a section of a LV help file is usually NOT a "tutorial" )  I find myself going directly to Google more and more often.

[Darren]

Nathan, I can change the title for you. Let me know what you want it to be. Once I change it, I'll kudo the idea, since I think the help content is great, but the search is not. 🙂

[Darin.K]

Help the LabVIEW Help help you.

[Nathan_S]

Hey Darren, Hmm. How does something like "Improve the LabVIEW Help Search Functionality" or similar sound? Feel free to polish the title as you see fit, I hope the proposed title can get my point across better (not that the Help itself isn't great, I just can't ever find what I need). Thanks for the help/Help.